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The Connington South rail crash occurred on 5 March 1967 on the East Coast Main Line near the village of Conington, Huntingdonshire, England. Five passengers were killed and 18 were injured. The 22:30 express from King's Cross to Edinburgh, hauled by a Deltic locomotive, was travelling along the Down Fast line at around 75 mph when the rear portion of the train was derailed to the left. The last four coaches came to rest on their sides and two others were derailed. ==Investigation== The interlocking showed that the Home signal had been at Danger when the accident occurred, but the driver and secondman stated that it was displaying Green until it passed out of their sight. Just beyond the Home signal there were points for controlling movements from the Down Fast to the Down Goods line, and it was on these that the train was derailed. The points were locked in position by two means: *A standard mechanical lock, operated by a lever in the lever frame. It could not be released unless the Home signal was at Danger. *An electrical lock, which engaged if a track circuit just beyond the Home signal was occupied by a train. No fault was found with either the track or the train. Immediately after the accident, 20-year-old signalman A. J. Frost claimed that he had accidentally changed the points while "swinging" on the levers. The public inquiry into the accident surmised that, as the train approached Connington South signal box, the signalman had: # Replaced the Home signal to Danger just as the locomotive reached it. # Pulled the point lock lever to withdraw the mechanical lock. # Raised the latch of the point lever just before the electrical lock operated. This sequence would have had to occur in the time between the train passing the Home signal and running on to the track circuit, i.e. in less than two seconds. Tests were conducted using a similar signalling frame to the one at Connington South and it was found that an experienced signalman could just about manage to reproduce the sequence. Thus, it was shown that the interlocking could be defeated. It was clear that the signalman had stood for some seconds with the points lever slightly out of its frame, moved it just as the sixth coach was passing over it, then returned it to its normal position. This would be a premeditated rather than an accidental act. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Connington South rail crash」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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